Eco-friendly Tiles: Ecophilosophy and Sustainability

Ceramic products that love and respect the environment.

Mirage believes that the planning and production of high quality flooring and wall tiles should not compromise the safeguard of the environment, and above all, the unconditional respect for everything that surrounds us. Over the years, the company has thus integrated investments and the research and development of new products into a true company philosophy, a concept with broader and deeper meaning that goes beyond the concept of ecology, creating sustainability

What does “sustainability” mean?

For us, the concept of sustainability identifies a continuous process that involves the life of the company, the quality of its products, and the life experience of the end-users.

To pursue sustainability means to create a model that is ethically and ecologically virtuous,
capable of lasting over time, preserving the future.

By applying this concept to our products, sustainability implies Mirage’s capacity to produce with the lowest possible impact, solutions with lasting value, helping the system to consume less, generate less wastage, lower waste disposal costs, and lower emissions on the whole.

Long duration, high sustainability.

To increase the level of sustainability, constant voluntary commitment and solid and careful planning for the future are essential. For this reason, Mirage makes investments at all levels, with the constant and well-planned use of technologies, procedures and resources that can create products with increasingly high standards of quality, dedicated to a world that consumes less and produces less wastage.

The investments made by Mirage are a guarantee for retailers, planners, and end-users, as the chosen product represents the state of the art in terms of :

EXCEPTIONAL DURABILITY. Porcelain stoneware is an inert material, which means it is not susceptible to variations in the elements (humidity, light, sudden variations in temperature. It is also compact and has high technical properties that reduce possible signs of wear and tear and resistance to shocks, abrasion and dirt. Mirage thus delivers to its clients an excellent product with outstanding technical properties, so that it will last even longer wherever it is used.

CONTROLLED AND RELIABLE. The entire system of procedures and controls that Mirage has put into place also affect its quality management. This increases the safety for our clients and ensures consumers that they will receive products that meet the declared standards of aesthetic, physical and technical quality.

HIGHLY ECOLOGICAL Each slab produced by Mirage fully meets the criteria for sustainable building. The environmental value of the products is recognised by international standards that certify their low impact, high performance and superb comfort.

Mirage products represent the best quality possible in the sector from an ecological viewpoint, and are made

without the use of harmful raw materials, glues or resins;

with raw materials extracted from quarries with certified and controlled quality;

recycling as many resources as possible throughout the production process;

with strict controls on the emissions and environmental impact;

with the greatest respect and attention to the safety in the work place and of the workers;

with continuous improvement of the various processes to reduce the energy requirements and the environmental impact.

The eco-excellence of Mirage: facts and figures

The truly important results that Mirage has obtained with regard to a reduction in energy consumption, in the recycling of wastage and rubbish, and in the reduction of emissions, show that today it really is possible to produce materials of a very high quality and design that have almost no impact on the environment or is at least extremely limited.

Recovery and recycling

100% of the production water recycled.

All the waters used for production are filtered after use, and thanks to a channelling and storage system, can be re-used. In addition, Mirage is also able to recover and re-use rain water.

100% of production waste recovered

Muds or raw waste that are generated during production before the firing phase are purified and completely re-used for subsequent productions. Mirage is even able to absorb the residues from other companies, thus recycling over 100% of its own production waste. Wastage from the kilns and sludge produced during polishing, on the other hand, are residues from the processes after the firing stage and cannot be recycled. They are used in other industrial processes.

100% of pallets recovered and/or recycled

All packaging materials that enter the Mirage premises are re-used for the transportation of other materials, returned to the supplier for subsequent shipments to the company, or recycled to make chipboard.

95% content of recycled paper and cardboard

Capillary control and reduction of emissions

the emissions of CO2 generated at Mirage are constantly monitored and kept under control, both for the production cycle and for interventions made to reduce emissions, such as the substitution of forklift trucks that run on diesel with electric models, and the elimination of motorised vehicles to move people around the production plant. Compliance with the standards is certified by the regional bodies, ARPA. Any other emissions in the atmosphere are strictly controlled by external laboratories, and regulated by the competent authorities. The most typical substances generated during the production processes for ceramics are fluorine, carbon monoxide (CO), Sulphur dioxide (SO2), aldehydes, and nitrogen dioxide (NO2).

Reduction by 68% of emissions of particular material

Reduction by 68% of emissions of particular material in the past 4 years, starting from values that were already extremely reduced.

Recovery of powders

Mirage is equipped with an advance system for the recovery of waste powders generated during production. The powders extracted are all re-used in the production process.

91% of kiln heat recovered

74% of electricity is self-generated depending on the amount needed.

This significant value was tripled in the last 4 years, following important investments and technological improvements.

Training, competences and know-how

In recent years, Mirage has made major investments in its human resources, also by employing a considerable number of young, well-prepared professionals who bring new cultures, new know-how and new ideas into the company.

A total of 6,724 hours of training in the past year

The growth of the know-how and competences of the company’s employees is a strategic component for Mirage, which is activated constantly. The increase of knowledge is deemed to be essential to pursue the highest quality at all levels, from production to post-sales assistance, sales activities, planning, marketing, logistics and administration.

The hours of training on environmental and safety issues were four times more than in 2011

Over 1/3 of the training hours are specifically dedicated to environmental and safety issues, proving how important these topics are for the company management.

Certifications

Operating and competing at international level for large orders and technologically advanced projects obliges companies like Mirage to take efforts to obtain the necessary certifications. These activities and the work needed are not interpreted at Mirage as empty bureaucracy, but as a strategic development path of its structure and competences, that are reconfigured according to higher standards, and are in line with the company’s own continual striving for excellence.

Environmental certifications

Directive EU IPPC

Mirage complies with the directive IPPC (Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control), which certifies compliance with precise parameters and the “use of the best techniques possible”, also referred to as BAT (Best Available Techniques) for industrial processes. The use of BAT certifies the reduction, on the part of Mirage, of polluting emissions and environmental impact, at the same time reducing its energy consumptions and improving productivity and production quality.

LEED compliant

All Mirage® slabs are LEED Compliant and help get up to 10 Leed credits, depending on color and usage.

Certifications for the company’s system

This certifies the quality management of all the industrial processes, monitoring and thus assuring stable conditions for first choice products, which must always correspond to the sales conditions declared. The independent certifying body, DNV, carries out controls to study and asses the quality processes that the company implements in all its departments. .

Product certifications for individual countries

In response to commercial requirements from specific countries, projects and sales channels, Mirage can obtain certifications for certain products in line with the individual national standards. Here is a short summary of just some of the most significant.

A French standard that certifies, for individual products, the compliance with parameters that are even stricter than those of the standard EN ISO 14411, depending on the intended use of the material. The system is based on 4 parameters identified by the letters UPEC.
A numerical value is associated with each letter that indicates the performance of the material. The higher the value, the better the technical characteristics of the material examined.

In September 2018 Mirage was among the first ceramic companies to also obtain QB UPEC F+ certification.
This standard certifies the excellent quality and performance parameters for 20 mm thick tiles laid outdoors on feet and supports in non-waterproof reinforced concrete, destined, for example, for corridors, balconies, loggias, pool edges and terraces. Specifically, the parameters certified by the standard regard shock resistance in both residential and public settings.

Chinese standard: certifies that the radioactivity of the products does not exceed a certain level considered harmful. Each object or living thing - even human beings - emit radiations, and this test in particular measures the radiations Potassium (K), Thorium (Th), and Radium (Ra), emitted by the material. At global level, for all of us this certification provides us with very interesting information, because it shows that Mirage does not use Zirconium silicate, a material that has a strong bleaching effect, but has the disadvantage of emitting a significant amount of radiation. To achieve lighter colours in a safe, ecological way, Mirage uses only particularly prized raw materials in its ceramic body, with a high purity level.